Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1887-04-06
Minutes OF Teachers, Institute.

tafuy.
900. The journals Of the preced-
ing day were read.
$40. Prof. Dempster gave an OBJ
ject lesson, during which he collect
ed the contents of the pockets of his
class, distributed them over the
room and very d%extrously drew from
his pupils the position of the objects.
He then wrote the sentence several
times, erasing and rewriting in diff
ferent places, impressing on the
minds of his hearers that drill was
the n thing necessary. Also the
requisites of a good teacher are good
| p~enmanship, tact, talent, variety and
ability. Teach script from the be-
ginning.
$50. Prof. Wernli taught the
las and 16's. Don't teach defini-
tons separate from actual work.
Multiply orally. Never teach writ
ten arithmetic alone. Keep numer-
alton and notation until the pupil
leaves school.
1925. Recess; accented on the
last syllable.
1875. Prof. Thurston drew a
map of Dakota in which he brought
out all the prominent features, dis
cussing the rainfall, elevation, water
shed, soil productions and name,
Dakota, the allied people. He
dwelt upon the necessity of teaching
pupils to look at map and draws
their own conclusions tnereirom
which of course were to be corrected
should they be erroneous.
11:20. Prof. Wernli's pleasant
voice again RECALLED ears on Ian
guage lesson. First, let the pupil
write on their states. Second, intro
duce a composition book and let
them write two compositions weekly.
Third, every composition must be
carefully criticized. Our minds were
then enlivened by making the base
word the modifying word in each
succeeding case. Some very inn
pressive maxims were then pre-
sented. "We make mistakes until
we are wise" "You may put a fool
into a mortar and smash him and
he will still be n fool"
1855. The occupants of the east
room filed into the west, all united
in singing, after which they were
dismissed.
1877. Afternoon session opened
with singing, followed by roll-call
Five members absent.
1873. An eloquent address on
"Didactics," by Prof. WeJnli.
To ascertain the channel in which
the minds OF your pupils flow, let
them choose a reading lesson of their
own. Teach live and not dead
things. Teach independence and
not slavery to a certain code Of laws.
The methods must be natural.
Teach that rivers are not black and
dry. Start from the known and
gradually extend toward the UNI
known. The teacher should be able
to understand and improve his
method.
Objects in recitation:
l.. To show your knowledge and
improve your grammar.
2. All the pupils get the benefit
of what each one knows.
2:20. Is Division was called into
the east room and Prof. Dempster
drilled on the position of the vocal
organs while uttering the different
sounds of a. Beginners must be
taught the easier sounds first and in
itiated slowly into the hard ones.
The next exercise is the sounds of e
and i, also methods of phonic anal
ysis.
2:55. Prof. Werrli then divided
the letters into their respective fam
lilies and they lived happily yer af-
terward. He refuses to hire only
two of the teachers, but desires to
send the remainder to school aud
thrash them.
800. Recess.
$50. Prof. Thurston treated the
subject of the Civil War in a man
ner truly profound, not, however,
beyond the comprehension of Union
county's teachers. The principal
topic was the chief naval battles.
The next lesson will trace Sherman
through the War.
4:05. Prof. Wernli reviewed the
class upon the preceding physiology
lesson. The subject of alcohol on
the bones was discussed.
The next topic is circulation.
4.30. The Query Box" disgorged
its contents and the questions were
all satisfactorily answered by the
able professors.
4:55. Dismission without form.
March %, 1887.
At 9:1O the "B' division, forty
three in number, assembled in the
east room where Prof. Wernli, after
conducting a short mental exercise
to concentrate The minds to himself,
! gave a few written examples in
arithmetic, which on being explained
| showed a deficiency of practice in
mental arithmetic. He also de-
nounced, strongly, the learning of
rules from books. asserting that the
rule should be brought out by the
explanation. Then followed exer-
cises showing the relation between
addition and multiplication, stating
that mental work should be carried
farther in our schools than it is. A
short drill in Notation and Numera-
ton closed the recitation.
At $50 Prof. Demlster chose q
class of six to represent a primary
class in reading. His favorite meth